Thursday, February 6, 2014

Roofing on the way!

Roof on this wonderful RV of mine looks to be the original rubber roof, and it definitely shows it's age. Seems like every time I climb up there see another sign of shrinkage and other things which need patching.

So, I have JUST ordered (yesterday) my new roofing material, from Grizzly Grip. Will be receiving it late next week. Saw the idea for this type of roofing, though different material/manufacturer, from this post on RV.net forums. Seems like it's a fairly simple thing to do and not all that complex. They put it on in one heavy coat and have developed a couple leaks, due to some thin spots here and there. I plan on following instructions (ssshhh, I normally don't) and do it in two coats.

Will be posting pictures of the whole process. Saturday will most likely start cleaning and what not, and actual application will be later.

Other happenings

Nevada DMV

It's been a while since have jotted down my travels. I was in Palm Springs when received e-mail from mail forwarder stating I had a certified letter arrive from the DMV. It was a very quizzical moment as knew had to get the VIN inspected though was under impression (after calling them) that it wasn't all that big of a deal.

Turns out they are little sticklers for having insurance on vehicles, and they use the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) to match up electronic feed from insurance company to registration. I knew, after receiving a letter from them, that the VIN they read didn't match up to the VIN on the original title I received from the seller. This was very troublesome in that had to make special trip.

Left Palm Springs (actually Eagles club in Coachella, CA) and drove to Pahrump, NV, before they suspended the registration. It was a REQUIREMENT that it be read at a Nevada DMV office. One thing that hurt me, though I totally expected it (avoided filling up in CA), is that I put in 77 gallons of diesel into the tank upon arrival.. That hurt seeing the numbers keep going up n up n up.

Got to the DMV office, and after waiting two hours was called up. It was funny in a way, just the mentality, in that the lady who helped me started blaming me, then the insurance company, for having an incorrect VIN. I simply stated, as tactful and respectful as possible, that it was an incorrect reading by the prior DMV employee, and she just had to accept that. This prompted her to get the VIN read, and by golly, I was correct.

So, after another hour I was able to leave, though it wasn't truly "fixed" in the computer. The manager, Deb, actually had to do some weird funky stuff, like creating a new "record" (registration I assume), and then the IT folks would merge it the next day. Either way I walked out with a fixed registration.

After spending 3 hours there, I left soon as they told me to. Turns out I also left my license (they had it in paperwork and I forgot they had it), so had to go back the next day. Then, a day later Deb, the manager, called me back stating that everything was good'ish. YAY, but still 3 hours out of my life I would've not liked to spend there, not to mention drive up there and back.

Pahrump, NV

While in Pahrump, stayed at the Escapee's park, Pair-A-Dice, and it was a fairly good park with a very reasonable weekly rate ($90). Was quite happy and will be back here if have to come back. Great people, great comraderie, and just a wonderful feeling.

Acton, CA

I stayed in Acton for 3 days, and then I had to "rage leave", in that cell service there was very iffy, as place was in a canyon, and internet that day was very very spotty. The campground was fairly nice, except for lack of cell and reliable internet service. If don't need those two would come back here.

The town was a very nice, quaint town. Was very happy as went to local pizza place, local grocery store, etc., and really like the area due to it's "small town" feel.

Los Angeles, CA

When decided to leave Acton, truly had no idea where I would be going. Planned on going to the 3D Printer World Expo in the area so closer to there was my goal. My first destination was an Eagles Club in Downtown LA, somewhat close to the docks. On phone they said I could "try and come", though there was very limited parking available. As between rock and a hard place set destination there first. Got there and it wasn't pretty. Not exactly easy to drive RV through the streets and am sure people were thinking who that crazy person was. Found quiet spot to pull over and called another eagles club, in Riverside. They have RV parking but referred me to one in San Bernardino as they have full hookups.

Long story short, got to San Bernardino around 9 PM, spent night in parking lot, and then got a nice site the next day. There's actually real trees and real grass!! Price is right, $12 a day. They have a dump station but not "full hookups" as have to drive to dump the yukky stuff. Still a very nice area and very nice people here. Would do again, but drive straight from Acton and save 3+ hours of driving.

Turns out Acton is closer to the Expo than San Bernardino, but at least have internet and cell phone!